Mounting for electric trolling motors



Jan. 28, 1964 F. EVANS 3,119,365

MOUNTING FOR ELECTRIC TROLLING MOTORS Filed Sept. 17, 1962 FIG 5 INVENTOR.

LYNN FLOYD EVANS an. EJv A/M A TTORNEY United States Patent 3,119,365 MQUNTING FDR ELECTRIC TROLLING MGTORS Lynn Floyd Evans, Houston, Mo. Filed Sept. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 223,895 6 Claims. (Cl. 115-17) This invention relates to a hinged bracket for mounting a trolling motor beside the forward part of a boat.

This bracket of my invention is particularly designed to take an electric trolling motor used in slow speed propulsion of a boat while fishing. This auxiliary motor is needed while trolling for two reasons. Due to the nature of an internal combustion engine, a motor big enough to move the boat rapidly is difiicult to throttle down effectively or efliciently to a speed slow enough for trolling. Even if a main or propulsion outboard is able to operate at the required low r.p.m., the large motor will inherently create an unacceptable amount of underwater noise while operating. Therefore the use of a second small auxiliary or trolling motor has become quite common for boats used in trolling. In addition to the smaller gasoline outboard motors, there has come on the market in recent years an electric trolling motor which is almost completely silent in operation and may be precisely controlled from zero to full r.p.m.

The conventional place for mounting the trolling motor is on the stern transom beside the main motor if it is an outboard or beside the propeller shaft if the main motor is inboard. This works satisfactorily in a large boat or when there are two or more persons in a smaller boat so one may sit in the stern to control the motor.

However when a lone fisherman is in the boat this method does not work well. To control the motor, the person would have to sit in the rear seat thus putting his weight plus the weight of the two motors in the rear. This unbalances the boat, raising the bow and making the boat particularly ungovernable when encountering waves or wind. The motor will have to operate faster and thus louder to maintain headway and the steering response will be more sluggish. This all detracts from effective trolling performance.

Through experience, fishermen have found the best method of trolling while alone is to sit on the forward thwart with the trolling motor mounted outside the gun wale beside them. This distributes the load, allows the fisherman freedom of movement and contributes to the maneuverability of the boat.

Thus an object of the present invention is the provision of a conveniently located bracket outboard of the forward thwart of the boat for attachment of a trolling motor.

Another object is the provision of a hinged bracket which when the motor is detached may be swung inboard of the gunwale where it will not ofier an obstruction to docking the boat.

I have attained these and other objects generally by providing a rotatable U-shaped bracket to be swung over a gunwale, one end terminating in a clamp-on plate for attachin the motor and the other end terminating in a hinge, the second leaf attaching to the interior of the boat.

For a more detailed understanding of my invention, reference is made to the description of a preferred embodiment thereof that follows and to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical partial section looking forward through the starboard side of a boat equipped with a trolling motor on a bracket of my invention in the outboard or operating position;

FIG. 2 is an elevation facing the starboard side of the bow of a boat showing the motor and bracket in operating position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 except the bracket is swung inboard putting the motor in a stowed position;

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FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one form of the bracket; and

FIG. 5 is a vertical section of a boat looking forward showing a trolling motor attached to the bracket of my invention in another inboard or stowed position in which the bracket is mounted on the boat in an alternate manner.

FIG. 1 shows a part of the starboard side of a boat looking forward to the bow. There is a gunwale 2, a thwart 3, the bracket comprising my invention, generally designated 4, and attached to the bracket, a trolling motor 5. The trolling motor is attached by its own clamping device 6 to a vertical clamp-on plate 7 which comprises the outboard end of my bracket when mounted in the operating position. Attached to the inner side of the vertical plate 7 is an inverted U-shaped member 8 which passes over the gunwale and down inside the boat terminating as one leaf of hinge 9. The second leaf 10 of hinge 9 is a conventional rectangular plate preferably with holes drilled through it so that the bracket may be conveniently attached to the boat. The bracket also contains two cushioning pads 11 and 12. In the form shown here, the bracket is attached to the side of the boat below the gunwale 2. Shown here between the second leaf 10 of the bracket and the side of the boat is a block 13. If no convenient rib or other structural member is available to attech to the bracket, it is generally advisable to insert a specially made block here to increase the rigidity of the installation.

When the bracket is in the position shown in FIG. 1 it will be seen that pad 11 serves to cushion and protect the gunwale of the boat from, and silence the effects of, vibration produced by running the trolling motor.

FIG. 2 shows the bracket and trolling motor in operating position. The motor is controlled by the tiller 14 and the freely rotating shaft 15. The propellor 16 is below and beyond the boat as also appears in FIG. 1 showing that it has full freedom of operation and may be turned in any direction without contacting the hull. Shown behind the side of the boat is the approximate position of the thwart 3 upon which the fisherman will sit when operating the trolling motor.

Thus it can be seen the motor is in a convenient position for the fisherman when sitting on the forward thwart of a boat to operate while trolling or while landing a fish.

FIG. 3 shows the method of stowing the motor when the boat is not being used for trolling. The bracket is rotated inwardly swinging the motor over and inboard until the bracket rests against the side of the boat with the second cushioning pad 12 between the side and the member 8. In the arrangement shown, the bracket will pass directly ahead of the thwart 3. If the motor is detached from the bracket and stowed elsewhere, the bracket will be in a relatively out-of-the-way position ahead of and below the forward thwart 3. If the motor can be stored in an inverted position without harm, it may be left on the bracket which will reduce the work at the beginning and end of the trolling operation. If the shaft 15 is also able to move freely in the cylinder of the clamp 6 then, when the motor is in the inboard position the shaft 17 will slide down until the top of the motor will rest against the bottom of the boat, as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed construction of one form of the bracket. The vertical plate 7 is preferably made of wood or a similar material rather than metal and of approximately the same thickness as the transom of a boat. The type of clamps used on outboard motors anchor more firmly on a slightly compressible substance such as wood than on metal. An alternate form of the bracket is shown in FIG. 4 to that shown in FIG. 1. The U-shaped membar 8 is not directly attached to the hinge 9. The first leaf of the hinge is a separate plate 17, with permanently mounted bolts 18. These fit through a plurality of holes 19 of the U-shaped member 8 when the plate 17 and member 8 are fitted together. The bolts are tightened by wing nuts 20. This arrangement allows a plurality of fastening positions between the plate 17 and member 8. The result of this is that the operator may vary the vertical distance between the hinge 9 and the inner surface of the top of the U-shaped member 8. This becomes important in attaching the bracket to any of a number of boats of different dimensions. The second leaf is most conveniently attached to a structural member on the side of the boat rather than directly to the relatively thin wall of the side. Thus the adjustable mechanism disclosed in FIG. 4 will allow the bracket to be conveniently attached to various boats.

FIG. 5 shows an alternate mounting system in which the second leaf of the bracket is attached to the thwart of the boat adjacent to the starboard side. There is no ditference in the operating position between the bracket shown here and the bracket shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, The sole difference is when the bracket is in the inboard or stowed position the motor will rest with its top directly on the thwart. This mounting is particularly suited to those trolling motors whose shaft may slide through the collar of their own mounting clamp. It is a more rigid and somewhat lower mounting of the motor when in the inboard position, thus increasing the stability of the boat. It would, however, not be useful for motors whose shaft could not slide through the collar of the clamp since the bracket, when in this position, would leave the propellor a considerable distance outboard of the side of the boat, interfering with docking and other operations.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A bracket for attaching an electric trolling motor to the side of a boat including a generally rectangular clampon plate for the motor, a rigid generally U-shaped member attached by one of its legs to one edge of said plate, both legs of said U-shaped member being aligned in substantially the same plane as the faces of said plate, the foot of the other leg of said U-shaped member being formed as a first leaf of a hinge, and a member forming a second leaf of a hinge being pivotally attached to said first leaf.

2. A bracket for attaching an electric trolling motor to the side of a boat including a generally rectangular clamp-on plate for the motor, a rigid generally U-shaped member attached by one of its legs to one edge of said plate, both legs of said U-shaped member being aligned in substantially the same plane as the faces of said plate, the foot of the opposite leg of said U-shaped member being formed as a first leaf of a hinge, and a member forming a second leaf of a hinge being pivotally attached to said first leaf, a first cushioning pad on the interior curved section of said U-shaped member, and a second cushioning pad above the hinge on the exterior of said opposite leg.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the opposite leg of the U-shaped member is formed in two pieces extensibly attached to one another whereby the distance from the hinge to the top of said U-shaped member may be varied.

4. In combination, a boat having a gunwale at a bow portion thereof and a bracket according to claim I mounted thereon with the second leaf mounted inboard of the gunwale and so positioned that the plate may be swung to a position outboard of said bow portion with its faces generally thwartships with the legs of the U-shaped member generally parallel to and on opposite sides of the gunwale.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the second leaf is attached to mounting member attached to the boat side below the gunwale.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the boat is provided with a thwart in the bow portion and the second leaf is attached to said thwart.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,119,281 Luders May 31, 1938 2,475,889 Hafele July 12, 1949 2,960,057 Taylor Nov. 15, 1960 

1. A BRACKET FOR ATTACHING AN ELECTRIC TROLLING MOTOR TO THE SIDE OF A BOAT INCLUDING A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR CLAMPON PLATE FOR THE MOTOR, A RIGID GENERALLY U-SHAPED MEMBER ATTACHED BY ONE OF ITS LEGS TO ONE EDGE OF SAID PLATE, BOTH LEGS OF SAID U-SHAPED MEMBER BEING ALIGNED IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PLANE AS THE FACES OF SAID PLATE, THE FOOT OF THE OTHER LEG OF SAID U-SHAPED MEMBER BEING FORMED AS A FIRST LEAF OF A HINGE, AND A MEMBER FORMING A SECOND LEAF OF A HINGE BEING PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO SAID FIRST LEAF.
 4. IN COMBINATION, A BOAT HAVING A GUNWALE AT A BOW PORTION THEREOF AND A BRACKET ACCORDING TO CLAIM 1 MOUNTED THEREON WITH THE SECOND LEAF MOUNTED INBOARD OF THE GUNWALE AND SO POSITIONED THAT THE PLATE MAY BE SWUNG TO A POSITION OUTBOARD OF SAID BOW PORTION WITH ITS FACES GENERALLY THWARTSHIPS WITH THE LEGS OF THE U-SHAPED MEMBER GENERALLY PARALLEL TO AND ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE GUNWALE. 